Collapse
by Aspect1
Summary: Yukimura hated the hospital since he woke up in it but the visits he got from his team mates made the stay bearable. One shot! Some Alpha Pair fluff.


**A/N: My first Prince of Tennis fic! I hope I manage to keep the characters IC but if I have not, then I apologize for some OOCness and I know I got some of the facts jumbled up a bit since I can't remember them too well and I'm writing this late at night. I also suggest listening to Collapse by Hatsune Miku while listening to this and look at the lyrics if you have time.**

**R&R!**

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We won the Prefecturals. I smiled at Niou teasing Akaya and Sanada issuing them laps to run for disturbing the people around us. Marui was chewing his bubblegum as well and talking to Jackal while Yagyuu tried to stop his doubles partner from teasing Akaya anymore. Renji was just watching with a serene look on his face while scribbling down data in his data book. It was an ordinary day except that we had won the Prefecturals but it was just a stepping stone to getting closer to our dream of winning the Nationals for the third time.

As we neared the train station, I felt my sight become slightly blurry. I frowned and blinked several times. My sight cleared and I passed it off as something that was in my eye. Then, as I continued walking, I felt my body become heavier. That was odd. We did do some practice earlier but it was light practice, nothing too heavy that would make me feel tired.

I heard someone call my name and asking if I was alright. I realized I was lagging behind and made an effort to catch up. I smiled at my team mates and said that I was perfectly fine and then, for a split second, my world turned black. My entire body felt weak, too weak.

"Seiichi, are you alright?" Renji asked me. I became aware that I was holding on to his shoulder for balance.

"Yeah," I lied, not wanting to worry them. _I am alright_, I assured myself. Just feeling a little light-headed from the practice.

I didn't want to believe that I would fall ill right before the Regionals. I had to be there. Yet, I found myself pitching forward with the horrible realization that something was indeed wrong.

"I can't feel my body," I whispered before my world faded to nothing.

It was supposed to be an ordinary day.

Yukimura hated the hospital since he woke up in it. He hated it for what it stood for, for diagnosing him with the Guillain-Barre syndrome and what it was doing to him but most of all, he hated the doctors and nurses. He was walking back to his ward when he overheard a doctor say that he may not be able to play tennis again and the nurse pitying him.

It was one of the most shocking moments of his life and ever since then, it seemed like the nurses and people who came to treat him were pitying him, saying "Poor boy" behind his back. And that was when it started; the pity party.

"Oh don't worry about your illness! I'm sure you'd be able to play tennis again after your treatment. We'll be able to have you recover completely!" they would say.

Lie after lie. All of them assuring him that he would be able to play tennis again, that he would be able to heal completely. And behind all those words that hold no meaning whatsoever, there was always, "I really pity that blue haired boy you know. I find it such a pity that he won't able to play tennis again and he was such a legend!"

Yukimura wished that they would just come out and say it to his face already. It was better than having those lies filled with promises that would never come true. And those who spoke as if it was a taken that he would spend his days rotting away in a hospital. He hated it...and it made him feel lonely as well.

The only time when Yukimura's dark and lonely days were brightened up was when his team mates came to visit him. It was always fun with them and Yukimura appreciated them in a way he never had before. It was so much fun seeing Marui drool over the cake they had bought for their captain and then Jackal would chastise him for wanting to eat it. Akaya would proudly claim that they would be fine even without Yukimura only to get prodded at by Niou who would reply with Akaya saying that they didn't need their captain followed by Akaya hurriedly retracting his words while shouting indignantly that they would always need Yukimura. Yagyuu would sometimes stop Niou from going too far and Renji as always would be writing in his databook.

And then Sanada would be standing beside Yukimura, watching his childhood friend laugh and chuckle at their team's antics with a hint of a smile on his face. The team they had brought up together and bonded with to the point they were practically a family. The times Yukimura had with his family in the hospital was one which he would always look forward to but they were nothing compared to Sanada's visits.

"How are they?" Yukimura asked his vice-captain.

"They are doing well but they need more work. Akaya is progressing well," Sanada answered.

Silence fell between them for a while but it was a comfortable silence. A silence where the pair was just finding comfort in each other's presence and knowing that if anything was to go wrong, they could depend on one another for support.

"Genichiro/Seiichi," both of them started at the same time. They paused and blinked at each other.

"You go first," they tried again, and once more, at the same time. A smile burst forth on to Yukimura's face and Sanada was trying and succeeding though just barely to hide his small smile.

"Seiichi, I'll definitely bring Rikkaidai to the top again this year without fail. We will be undefeated," Sanada promised.

"Genichiro..." Yukimura's smile was filled with affection for the hot blooded vice captain. Then, he hesitated and lowered his eyes. Sanada, noticing this change, became worried.

"Is there anything wrong?" he asked.

Yukimura shook his face. "It's just...I'm not burdening you too much right?" his face was creased with worry. "After I've fallen ill, you seem to have taken all the responsibilities upon yourself and I'm worried that I'm putting a burden on you."

Yukimura clenched and unclenched his fist, a sign that he really was anxious for Sanada's wellbeing. Sanada moved closer to Yukimura and very lightly, he held onto the captain's hand.

"Seiichi, you most definitely are not burdening me. I will keep my promise to you and I'm not lying." Sanada had no idea why he added that last part but he felt the urgent need to reassure Yukimura before he worried even more and that would just make the not-so-stoic vice captain even guiltier for worrying his best friend.

Yukimura chuckled and smiled a smile so sweet at Sanada that Sanada could feel his cheeks turning red. Yukimura looked so...angelic in that moment.

"Thank you, Genichiro."

No words could express how light and elated Yukimura was at that moment. He was finally hearing a promise filled with...well, promise. He smiled once more at Sanada and loved how he was making him blush.

"I need to go now so good bye, Seiichi. I'll see you again." Sanada said in a steady voice. He had only regained part of his composure.

"Good bye, Genichiro," Yukimura said softly and watch him leave the room.

Yukimura didn't see Sanada or the regulars for a while which made him even lonelier than before. He spent his days cooped up in his ward, sometimes reading to the children in the hospital. The whispers of his condition was starting to get to him again and once again, the hate for the hospital came back.

Idly, Yukimura wondered if the regulars had forgotten him but he knew the lack of visits were due to the increased training. It was one sunny day when his doctor called him in to his office and proposed a surgery to Yukimura that would cure him of his illness with the downside of only having a 50% chance of success. He was told to think over it carefully and come back with the answer in a few days time but Yukimura already had his answer.

That day, Sanada came to visit him.

"Genichiro, I'll be taking an operation that only has a 50% chance of success," Yukimura said, voice low. The lights on the ceiling flickered, wavering between being dim or bright.

"...I understand. I will tell the others." was Sanada's reply.

And that was that. Sanada left after that short exchange but his visit lifted Yukimura's spirits.

Yukimura had his surgery on the day that Rikkaidai fought against Seigaku. The operation was successful but Rikkaidai lost. The screams that assaulted Sanada was painful and did quite some harm to Sanada's soul but after that fit was thrown, Yukimura emerged even more determined than ever.

"We will be taking the championship!"


End file.
